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April 16, 2018 

On Tuesday we went over to see J. We were worried about her because as I mentioned last week, she found out during church that her sister had passed away. We visited with her and just let her talk for a while. It seemed to really help her.

We were invited to go to the funeral. It was on Thursday morning at a small Baptist church out in the country. I was a little nervous pulling up, because here we were, two Mormon missionaries showing up to a Baptist church, to meet all of J's family, who is either Baptist or Pentecostal, and skeptical about the church. As we walked over, I thought of the scripture "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7). So I went in with an open mind and a positive attitude. We were quickly able to find K and J and talk with them for a minute. I had decided to wear my nicest suit, along with my nicest tie. I was surprised to see that we one of very few people dressed formally. As we talked to K, his cousin, JC, came over and talked to us. JC proved to be a gold mine. He asked us right away if we could come visit him and his family out in Ola. He also was the key to us getting to know a lot of the family. He introduced us to his whole family and also several of his other relatives. The service was held outside and graveside. J had decided that she would stay in the car, because she could hardly bear to be next to the casket. So C drove up close enough with earshot to hear the service. A Baptist preacher spoke at the service. He talked about Psalms chapter 23, J's sister's favorite scripture.

"1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

The preacher talked about a lot of good things, how to truly know the Lord as our shepherd, we have to live righteous lives. He also talked about how in life we have difficult times so that we can depend upon Christ to carry us through those times.

Though what he was preaching was good, his delivery was different than what we as Latter Day Saints are accustomed to. He was literally shouting. From the way he was shouting, he almost came off in an angry way. It was a little scary to listen to. How grateful I am for the manner of reverence there is in the Church. When talks, sermons, and testimonies are shared, we do not need to shout. The whisperings of the Spirit are sufficient to penetrate our hearts, if we but put forth the effort to hear them.

After the services, we drove to a park where we had a picnic. The relief society provided the food. While there, we had the opportunity to meet almost all of J's family! It was really really fun! A lot of them are super redneck and really funny, so I had a good time joking around with them. They are very nice people. So I have a reputation with J for eating all the brownies every time we have a pot luck at church. So this time, J went ahead and gave me the whole plate right away. K chimed in and said I couldn't eat the whole plate, so I challenged him to a game of one on one; the winner would get the plate of brownies. There were some basketball courts at the park, and someone just happened to bring a ball. I wasn't going to lose those brownies. I took em home after winning 20-10.

The crazy thing was that very night, we ran into JC and his family in Ola. They were visiting with some friends at their friends house. JC invited us in right away, so we got to meet everyone. JC said: "the first thing you need to know about us is that we are REDNECKS!" They definitely fit the stereotype. We really enjoyed talking to them, they are hilarious. Their friend they call Grandpa, he is 74 years old and absolutely insane. We laughed our heads off.

J and K came to the musical tribute in Conway last night, and they loved it! Right we are trying to find new investigators, so pray for us!

Love y'all, have a wonderful week!

No pics this week! I'll make sure to take some next week!